Digger Reset
by Evelan Wolfsbane
Summary: *Spoilers* Dr. Brennen and Hodgin's are kidnapped by the grave digger, 4 years further into the future than in the show. After the end of season 4. Bones/Booth AU, OOC, Preg Warning to be safe *ON HIATUS. I'M PLANNING MY WEDDING SORRY*
1. A Request of The Clock

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the characters, if I did, this wouldn't be on this site it would have been part of the show... *giggle* oh well.

**A/N:** As I said in the summery, I'm screwing with the time line a little. Because I can. I know that some of the other episodes become weird with this moved, but I wanted to play with it a little. I think you'll enjoy it.

Read and review please!

Chapter 1

A Request of the Clock

Temperance Brennen had never held any reliability toward the phrase "a heart wants what the heart wants." She viewed the heart as nothing more than a muscle in the chest that provided the rest of the body with blood. That is until she had met Special Agent Seeley Booth. He had taught her that there was more to the heart than it's function in blood supply. After 4 years of being his partner, she had learned that in times of crisis, and high emotion, his heart spoke louder to him, then his head. Just by being near him during these times, she had began to think like him on occasion. So when Sweets had them do the Visceral Response exercise during the Holts murder, and she realized that she wanted a child, it was not hard for her to see that it was due to his influence on her.

If she told the truth to herself, she wanted what she saw her friends had. When she saw Booth with Parker, and Cam with Michelle, she wanted it. She wanted to know what it was like to be loved unconditionally, to know when she went home at night, after a long day of being surrounded by death, that someone would be there to hug her and tell her they loved her. She had never known that before, she could bearly remember what it felt like to have someone there when she got home. Yes she had lived with a couple of her previous lovers, but they had been like her. She would come home and find a note on the fridge saying they were off to China, or Peru, and they didn't know when they'd be back. She would come home, and want nothing more than to cuddle on the couch and cry for hours and they would be buried to their necks in notes and research books. So over time she had gotten used to not having someone at her home that would happy when she got home from work. She had convinced herself that she didn't want any of those things. Until she'd met Booth. He'd made her realize that she did want them. And those days when she'd return to her posh apartment and no one would hold her while she cried, she hated him for it. She hated Booth for making her see that she still wanted that love.

So when her heart started to scream at her that a baby would be what she needed, she could not ignore it. And she began to believe in the saying. She determinedly ignored the fact that her heart wasn't just telling her she wanted a baby, she wanted a family. She wanted Booth's baby yes, but she also wanted Booth. After hours of talking herself out of asking Booth out, telling herself that she could not loose their partnership, their friendship she decided that she could have his baby and live without him. All she needed to do was convince Booth of this.

When she told him what she wanted, and he told her he couldn't do it, couldn't be a father without being a father, she decided that she could live without a child, as long as she could continue to see him everyday. When she'd returned from Guatemala and he'd told her he loved her, she began to think that maybe she could have more with Booth. As time went on and nothing happened between them, she began to wonder if she would ever get what her heart wanted. How much she had changed in the last 4.5 years, to be able to see that it was her heart and not her head telling her that she wanted more.

When she couldn't go home another night knowing that no one would be there to greet her, she decided she was through ignoring her heart, and her head, and was going to do something to change her life. A life she was no longer happy with. After 17 years of holding everyone at arms length she was going to allow someone the chance to truly harm her. And she could only hope that they were not going to take the offer she was going to make and crush her with it. With these fears and hopes in the forefront of her mind, she turned away from her apartment and headed towards Booth's. Instead of using the rock by his front door she decided

to knock for once. What she got she didn't entirely know what to do with. Booth came to the front door in a pair of boxers. His chest had small rivers of water rolling down it, absorbing into the waistband of his Papa Smurf boxers. His hair was wet, and dripping steadily onto his shoulders. He seemed to have just gotten out of the shower, and was in the middle of shaving. Half his face was covered in shaving cream.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt your grooming, but this couldn't wait for tomorrow, or be spoken of over the phone," Brennen said, slipping under Booth's arms and moving into his apartment. Booth turned to watch her settle into a chair at his dinning room table, a confused look on his face. Sighing, he closed the door and shrugged.

"There's soda, and beer in the fridge. I'm going to finish shaving, then I'll be back and we'll talk," Booth said, disappearing back into the bathroom. He had no idea what could have brought his partner to his door at 10 pm on a Monday night. He could think of several things, each less likely than the one before. The one that he wanted the most out of the list was to be able to finally tell Brennen exactly how he felt about her. But that was at the bottom of the list and the least likely to ever come true. Brennen was not someone who allowed emotions to rule her, and she was not the type of person to allow his emotions to change the relationship between the two of them. The most likely reason for her visit tonight was to talk to him about something having to deal with the heart, that was what he was good at. Seeing into someone's heart, and being able to tell them what they were feeling, and why they did what they did. After he finished with his face, he threw the t-shirt and sweats he had sitting on the toilet on, and returned to the kitchen to find Brennen where he'd left her. In front of her was an open and untouched beer. Another sat across the table from her, where he normally sat.

Brennen looked up at her partner and closest friend and had to admit to herself, she liked the boxers with the cartoons on them, far better then she liked the 'U.S. Army' sweats and FBI t-shirt he now had on. She'd enjoyed following the drops of water sliding across his chest from his shoulders, to his waist. Shaking herself mentally, she watched him pull on a pair of red socks with Christmas trees on them.

"What ya need, Bones?" He asked, turning into the table and lifting the beer to his lips. He had already prepared himself for an earful of scientific mumbo-jumbo so he was unprepared for what he heard.

"I couldn't go home. I was half-way there and suddenly it hit me that I was tired of going home to an empty apartment, I was tired of being alone all the time. I couldn't do it, I don't know why, and I know it doesn't make any logical sense what-so-ever, but I just could not spend one more night by myself," she said, dropping her eyes to the beer in front of her. Her head suddenly snapped up when she heard that Booth was chocking. He put his beer down and started to pound on his chest as he coughed. After a few moments he managed to take a ragged breath.

"W... what?" he gasped, looking at her with his eyes wide with surprise. This was the last thing that he had thought she would say. She had allowed emotion to over-rule logic on occasion, but normally when it had to do with the well-being of others, not herself. So the fact that she had denied her sensible side, that was telling her to just go home and be alone, and listened to her heart when it told her not to be alone, was nothing like the Brennen that he knew. Brennen gave him a worried look, and shook her head.

"I couldn't go home-" she started her speech again, when he waved his hand at her, cutting her off.

"Okay, not what then, how 'bout why? Why come here of all places? Why my door and not, say Angie?" Booth asked, finally able to get his coughing under control. It was not a pleasant experience when beer or anything goes down the wrong pipe.

"I didn't want to bug Angie. She and Hodgins have finally gotten past some of their qualms, and she is staying with him tonight. Why I came to you I'm not sure, maybe it's cause... my heart... was telling me that you were the one I needed," the longer she talked, the lower her voice became. In the end, Booth had to lean across the table to be able to hear her last words. Her declaration made his eyes go wide, and he sat back in his chair, staring at the ceiling. He was trying not to allow his hopes to overrule his trust in Brennen being Brennen. He decided to wait her out, allow her to continue at her own pace. He didn't have to wait long however.

"Booth, I don't really understand it. I don't understand why I would, suddenly after 17 years, have a problem with going home to an empty apartment. A problem with not having someone there when I come through the door who is happy that I'm there, who will want me to be there no matter how bad my day was, and what kind of mood I'm in. I just don't understand why I would want these things after so long," she said, jumping to her feet and starting to pace in his kitchen. Door to fridge, fridge to table, table to door. After three rotations, he pulled his eyes away from her and sighed.

"That's just it Bones. You said it yourself. 'After so long.'" Booth sat forward and propped his arms on the table. He was much smarter then he let on and he knew why she was feeling the way she did. He was just disappointed it wasn't for other reasons.

"What? I don't understand what you're talking about Booth," Brennen had stopped behind the chair she had been sitting in, and rested her hands on the back of it. It was then that he noticed what she was wearing. A mid-calf length black skirt, buttoned down white dress shirt with a black blazer open over the top of it. Hose and a pair of two inch heels could be seen under the hem of the skirt. Around her neck was a necklace made of three strings of pearls and she had in matching pearl studs. He had never once seen Brennen wear pearls, and suddenly he was glad that he was bent forward under the table. He didn't quite understand it, but something about a women in heals and pearls made something in his heart and in his groin tighten. Taking even breaths he ripped his eyes away from the white stones around her neck and into her blue eyes.

"It's your clock, ya know, your biological clock. It's telling you, you're running out of time. That's all it is Bones, nothing more than that," Booth said it, staring at the table top. When he glanced up at Brennen, he had to stifle a groan. She was staring at her hands on the back of the chair, showing that she had a white ribbon tied around her tight ponytail. God, what did she do? Get fashion advice straight out of his fantasies? Out of the list of them, the most thought of was a naked women in ribbons and pearls. God must hate him, if his most lived through fantasy was within arms reach, in the shape of his partner, which he had already admitted to himself that he loved almost as much as he loved his son. Even though she was just past his fingertips, her heart was much farther outside his reach then her body was.

"What? What are you talking about Booth. I'm not understanding you," Brennen said, gracefully plopping into the chair in front of her. If anyone could plop gracefully Brennen was the person to do it.

"Your biological clock is the ticking in the back of your head telling you that you are running out of time to... you know. Do what you asked me to help you with," Booth said it all very fast, the same uncomfortable look on his face that he wore any time he tried to talk to Brennen about sex and the by-products of sex. This uncomfortableness had nothing to do with him being a prude, and everything to do with him attempting to stave off a hard-on by thinking of Brennen naked. He was already having problems in that department due to her jewelry.

"I don't hear a ticking," she said, giving him one of the confused looks that had made him both love her and hate her over the years, depending on the situation that is. Taking another calming breath, Booth closed his eyes and ran through the Jet's, and the Steeler's line-ups.

"It's not a real ticking Bones," Booth said through gritted teeth, he was fighting off irritation, and a longing to slowly untie the ribbon in Brennen's hair.

"Oh. It's an imaginary ticking. Where the metaphor for a clock comes from the urges telling you, you are getting closer to the time when you will no longer be able to have offspring. Now I get it about the clock thing, but I really don't think that, that is why I felt the urge to come here and spend time with you, unless my 'clock', as you call it, is telling me that you would be the best father and provider to the children it is telling me to have. Which I really don't think that's what it's telling me, if it's telling me anything at all. So I still don't understand why I feel the way I do. I've never needed to have someone there when I get home from work, or have someone to tell me everything will be okay and to wipe my eyes while I cry. I've just never needed it before and now I find I do need them and I don't understand it," Brennen appeared to have refound her confidence in her logic. However, Booth finally understood what was going on. How he couldn't have seen it before he didn't know.

"Heart, Bones. You're heart is telling you not to be alone anymore. It's telling you that you need someone to love you," Booth said, staring into Brennen's eyes with compassion, and love in his own. He was hoping that she would understand what he was trying to say. From what he had heard from her in the last 20 minutes, the thing he wanted most out of this meeting could very well happen. But he had to take it slow, if he just blurted it out, told her how he felt she'd freak and run. He had to wait for her to offer it to him, to tell him she wanted it before he could give it.

"Okay. You're the expert on heart, so I'll differ to you in this instance. Tell me why my heart sent me to your door? I mean there are others who I have been close to in the past, why you?" Brennen was looking him dead in the eye, pleading with him to explain to her why she would be drawn to his front door. And suddenly there it was, the offer he was waiting for, on a silver friggin platter. In a split second he knew what he wanted to do. He'd tell her, and he'd fight to his dieing breath to keep her with him.

"It sent you here because... I love you, Bones. And I'm not talking like one of the guys, or a friend. I'm talking about I want to wake up every morning with your breath on my neck, and I want to go to bed every night with you by my side. I want you Temperance, as more than a partner, or a friend," He didn't move, he didn't breath as he waited for the outburst that would follow, the door opening and slamming behind her as she ran. His eyes were closed, so when he heard the scraping of her chair his heart sank, and he had to swollow a sob.

"I... was unaware that you felt the same way I did," the words were breathed against his ear. Brown eyes snapped open and he whipped around to face her. She was standing next to him, he wasn't staring into her eyes, he was eye level with her nipples. A blush raced up his face from his neck and he flung his eyes up to hers. What he found there, made his throat go dry. Love, need, and longing where not things that he normally saw in her eyes. They staid that way for a few moments, staring into each others eyes. "Booth? Kiss me," the words were whispered, but they reached through the fog that had clogged his brain. He surged to his feet, one arm around her waist, the other reaching up to grin her ponytail. Clutching her to his chest, he slammed his lips against her, the urge to do this had been strong since their last blackmailed kiss. He felt her melt against him, the warmth of her arms going around him, pulling him closer as she returned the kiss.

Booth broke the kiss first, needing to look at Brennen again, needing to make sure that she wasn't freaking out. Her eyes were half-open, her lips parted and puffy from their kiss. Her hair was tousled from his hand, and her pristine blazer was wrinkled. Her eyes were glazed, and little half pants were billowing out of her parted lips. She appeared to have been truly enjoying herself. Booth couldn't help himself, he stood there, wrapped around her, staring at her face. Until that is, she opened her eyes all the way and looked at him.

"Booth? What's wrong?" Brennen asked, suddenly worried she had done something to push him away.

"Nothing, Bones, nothing at all," his voice was soft, a small smile on his face, as he reached up and gripped one end of the ribbon in her hair. His eyes were riveted on her beautiful face as the white piece of silk slowly slid out of her hair.

***

The sun in Seeley Booth's eyes woke him the next morning, to find a body pressed against his left side. His leg was trapt under someone else's, and there was a hand pressed over his heart, a head of brown hair on his left shoulder. Suddenly, remembering who it was that was laid next to him, and what had happened the night before made Booth grin, and pull her closer to him. At last, at long last, he had been allowed to tell Brennen the real reason for refusing her a child. He had wanted nothing more than to give one to her, but his heart would not allow him to without having Bones just as he had her now. He couldn't give her a child, with out it being an act of love, and a start of a family. From the looks of how things were now, he had gotten his wish. However, he would not allow himself that hope, he would simply take it day by day, just as he had always taken his partner.

While he waited for Bones to wake, he indulged himself in remembering the night before. He had duck walked her into the bedroom while they had been kissing, stripped her down to nothing, and begged her to keep the necklace on. The sight of her laid out under him with nothing but pearls around her neck made him groan, and an all to familiar hardening in his groin happen. Shivering at the feeling, he reached over with his right hand and began to gently rake his fingers through her hair. Her eyelashes brushing against his chest made him chuckle as they tickled him.

"Good morning, Bones, how did you sleep?" He asked softly, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. A groan was her reply, but he suddenly understood why she didn't speak with the hand over his heart slid down his torso to his groin.

"You know, now I understand why you wear that belt buckle. It is quite accurate. You are the largest male I've ever been with. I'm quite satisfied," she said, not looking up at him. Chuckling again, Booth shifted, pressing Bones over onto her back. As he hovered over her again, he notice that she had fallen asleep with her jewelry on. A moan escaped his throat as he bent down to kiss her, only to be interrupted by both of their phones ringing.

"Let's ignore that," he said against her neck, laying gentle kisses against the skin behind her ear.

"It could be a case though Booth. And no matter how we feel about one another, we cannot allow our personal life to interfere with our work, it is too important," Brennen said, pushing him off of her as she went to retrieve her coat from the kitchen floor where they had dropped it. Sighing, he got out of bed, and grabbed his phone from his bedside table as he made his way to the bathroom.

A hour later, he was waiting in Brennen's kitchen while she changed out of the clothes he had lent her after the quick shower at his place. Waiting for her to come back out of her apartment, he went to the stereo and started looking through the cds. He found several additions to her modern collection. Nickleback, Linkin Park, Aerosmith, Metalica, Pink Floyd, ZZ Top (autographed by Angela's father), and of course the Foreigner cd. He grinned at the collection and pulled out the last one. He noticed that it appeared to be very warn, and he couldn't help but chuckle. Shaking his head at the image of Brennen dancing around her living room, he put it in the tray and hit play. Changing the song several times he stopped when the base hit just the right note. There it was, his favorite song.

_Standing in the rain With his head hung low_

_Couldn't get a ticket It was a sold out show._

_Heard the roar of the crowd he could picture the scene  
_

_put his ear to the wall then like a distant scream he heard one guitar just blew him away_

_he saw stars in his eyes and the very next day bought a beat up six string in a second hand store_

_didn't know how to play, but he knew for sure that one guitar felt good in his hands_

_Didn't take long to understand just one guitar, slung way down low was a one way ticket, only one way to go._

As the music filled the living room, he started to sing along, strumming his air guitar along with the music. He loved this band, it had been the first concert his grandfather had taken him and Jared to when he was 13. He could still smell the stink of people around him, and feel his ears vibrate as the music pounded against them. It was a wonderful memory. Suddenly he heard another voice add to the music.

"Got stars in his eyes!" Brennen was standing in the doorway to the hallway, now fully dressed. She was singing backup. Laughing suddenly he went to her and wrapped her in his arms, still shocked that he was allowed to. "I... was going to throw the cd away, after what happened the first time I listened to it, but I decided that I shouldn't waist such a good collection of music just because it reminded me of a horrible event. If I thought that way I wouldn't be able to listen to any kind of music," she said, burying her nose into his neck. Nodding, he held her closer, remembering that night as well. The song ended as they held each other, trying to push through the memories. When the next song started, they pulled away. A few minutes later the music was off, and the apartment was locked up.

Life continued, and Brennen was happier then she had ever been. She still helped solve murders with Booth, but now, when they were alone in the car they got to hold hands, or make out, or more often then not, screw like bunnies in the back seat. Months went by, and suddenly it was Christmas. It had seemed to sneak up on them, even though they had the usual case just around Halloween. Thanksgiving was wonderful. Hodgin's opened his house to everyone, mostly because it was the only place with a big enough dinning room. Everyone from the 'Squint Squad' was there, including all of the interns with their respective others. Sweets and Daisy came, who announced their engagement. Parker, Rebecca and Brent were there, Max, Russ, Amy and the girls as well. Even Hank managed to escape the retirement community for the event. It was a wonderful evening. But what happened a few days before Christmas would change everything.

Booth was away at a seminar in Portland Oregon, Brennen was using one of her sick days. She hadn't been feeling well the last several days, so she decided to take a few days off until Booth came back. At the moment she was laying on her couch, reading a book Booth had bought her for her birthday. She had discovered that she rather liked fantasy stories, so he had bought her Dragon Prince by Melanie Rawn.

Her phone ringing jarred her from the world of the Desert Prince, making her grind her teeth. How was she ever going to know if the baby had been that tyrant's or not if she kept getting interrupted? Grumbling about stupid phones, and irritating people she closed the book and rose to her feet. Not making it to the contraption in time, she pulled up the caller id, and suddenly realized the date. Staring at it, she couldn't help but think back to the last couple of weeks. If she was right... The phone in her hand rang again, and she was brought back to the world. Hitting the talk button, she held it up to her ear.

"Brennen," was her usual short greeting.

"Bren? It's Angie. Ummm... you are never going to believe this, but me and Hodgin's are in Vegas," Angie's voice came from the other end of the line. Not really understanding why Angie would feel the need to call her and tell her that they had gone on vacation, she began to feel a little agrivated. She'd been pulled away from her book for this?

"Okay. Obviously I am not grasping the significance of you and Dr. Hodgin's going to Las Vegas," she said, maybe a little bit more terse then she had meant to be. She heard a small sigh from the other end of the line, and knew she was once again not as normal as most people.

"Sweetie, I just got married. That's what it means. Me and Hodgin's eloped," Angie said, and Brennen could see the look of patient understanding on her best friend's face. It was the look she wore when she had to explain the obvious to Brennen. "I know, I know, Bren. Marriage is an archaic institution, and why should I need a piece of paper to prove my commitment, and I've locked myself down, both sexually and tax wise. But I couldn't say no this time, Sweetie. We were sitting there, in front of the fireplace in his bedroom, just talking. And suddenly it hit me that I wanted to do this. Now, today. I said let's go to Vegas, get married, he asked if I was sure, I said yes. Next thing I know I'm standing in front of Elvis in jeans and a sweater holding some fake flowers. It was beautiful and perfect," Brennen waited her out, paying as much attention as she could to her friend's rambling. She really could talk.

"Angela. I'm happy for you. You did what you wanted to. I've learned that sometimes you just need to go with what you're heart tells you to do. If that means hopping on the next flight to Vegas, then it works for you. And yes I have said those things many times in the past, but I'm beginning to see that my parents leaving me killed me to really accepting that things happen, and married people can be very happy," Brennen said, leaning against one of her numerous bookshelves. There she stood for nearly an hour as she and Angela talked about just about everything. But her mind was somewhere else for the most part. It was going back to just before Booth's surgery. She had asked him to father her child, and had been very close to doing just that when they found the tumor. Now, nearly a year later, she had to wonder if that urge for a child had ever really gone away. Being honest with herself, no it hadn't. It had simply been ignored in the favor of being with Booth. Something that she wouldn't give up for anything in the world. And now here she was, listening to her friend tell her about the corny honeymoon suite that she and her new husband were in.

"Angela? I have to go," she suddenly said, standing up straight. She had to know for sure before she could begin to worry.

"Ah, okay. Love you sweetie," Angie said.

"Love you too, talk to you later?" Brennen wasn't really thinking about what she had just said.

"Yeah, talk to you later," Angela hung up the phone, looking down at her side, where Hodgin's was sketching some kind of beetle. "Brennen just said 'love you too.' Being with Booth really has been a good thing," Hodgin's glanced up at her for a moment, mumbled something and went back to his drawing.

Back in D.C. an hour later, Dr. Temperance Brennen was sitting on the edge of her bathtub, holding a small white stick in her hand. She was not really one to fidget, but she was. Every few seconds she would shift her hips, or transfer the stick from one hand to the other. She didn't know why she was so nervous. It wasn't like she didn't want a baby or anything. But then again, honesty to herself not being a big strong suit of hers, she had to admit she didn't know how Booth would react. The beeping of her watch made her look down at the stick in her hand. Well that answers that.

**A/N: **So what do you think so far? It'll be at least two more chapters before the grave digger comes into it. I'm setting it up to make what I want work better. Please Review!


	2. Christmas Gifts and Happy New Year

**A/N: **Wow! I never really thought this story would get such rave reviews from you guys. Thank you! I'm sorry about the shortness of this chapter. I was having problems getting it to flow right. Please tell me if you notice any mistakes... I kinda rushed it. Hope you guys enjoy it. :D

Chapter 2

Christmas Gifts and Happy New Years.

Booth stood back from the tree and grinned. He had managed to talk his girlfriend into having a tree in her office. What she didn't know, was that while she was in court testifying he would be setting it up and decorating it. While he had been standing in the store, looking at all of the different decoration, the clearance rack had caught his eye. After several days of back and forth with many of the books in her office he had managed to find everything he needed and decorate them. Now he stood there, grinning at his own stroke of genius. He only hoped that she wouldn't be mad about it. Shaking his head at the thought, he moved about gathering the containers he had brought the things in, and generally straightening up the office. He still had about twenty minutes before she would get back and he wanted to talk to Angela again.

Making his way past the forensics platform and into the artist's office, he found her tapping away on her pad for the hologram projector. Floating in front of her was a baby, or at least he thought it was a baby. Curled around itself, with an umbilical cord connecting it to a large glob of something just above it's head, it slowly rotated.

"Hey Ange. Wow, that's really cool," he said, stepping up to the projector. She glanced up at him and grinned, before returning to what she had been doing.

"It's a Christmas gift for a friend of mine up in Archeology. She's seven months pregnant, and I managed to get a couple of copies of her ultrasound photos. Figured I'd do the program for her. Once I'm done with it, I'm going to do it in clay. Figured a cute little statue of her baby would make her really happy," Angie said, making a couple more adjustments before setting the pad down and turning her full attention to Booth. She couldn't help but notice the look of longing on the big guys face. "You want another one," she said. Not a question, a statement of fact. Sighing and scrubbing his face with his hands he nodded.

"I can't tell you how thrilled I was when Bones asked me to be the father of her baby. Before the tumor and all. I just couldn't do it. I can't be a father, without _being _a father. I know it's strange, but it's the truth. But I can't shake the want for it," he said, returning his eyes to the baby floating in front of him. Angie patted him on the shoulder and moved to a table near by. Leaning against it, and making sure that her frilly shirt wasn't touching any of the tools needed for the clay sculpture, she smiled at the big guy.

"Now don't get me wrong on this, I know it's none of my business, but I think your need for another child has a couple of roots. The first I think, is how much time you missed with Parker while he was just a baby. He's a great kid now, and you love him so very much, but I think you regret missing out on so much. The second being the missed chance you had with Bren. Yeah I understand why you couldn't just do it in a cup and leave it at that, you're not that kind of person. But you also regret once again, missing out on the baby you could of had. Now both of these things are connected, you refused Bren because of how hurt you were with Parker and Rebecca," Angie said all of this while watching the wistful look in Booth's eyes as he watched the unborn baby slowly turn. He didn't say anything to her, but the look in his eyes when they met her's a few moments later said it loud and clear. He understood, and he knew. He knew why all of it was happening, but the sadness there, was that he didn't know if Brennen would ever give him the second chance at being a father. Mere heartbeats passed as they stared at each other and understood. Then Booth shook himself and grinned at Angie.

"Anyway, the main reason why I came in here is that I wanted to ask you to come and look at the tree that I put in Bone's office and tell me what you think," He said, a happy note in his voice, but Angie could still see the look in his eyes, that little spark of hope that had died when he'd told Brennen no. Angie smiled back at him, that indulgent look on her face once again, the one she wore when she had to explain something so obvious to Brennen.

"Alright big guy, let's go take a look at this tree of yours," she said, pushing away from the table. As they made their way across the lab area, she threaded her arm through his, throwing a sultry smile at her husband on her way passed his desk. When they stepped into Brennen's office, Angela laughed at the tree. Pale blue and white lights circled it, giving it an almost eerie glow, which wasn't entirely helped by the bones hanging from small hooks on it. Booth had spent hours researching the human skeletal structure to make sure that he had a complete skeleton on the tree. He'd finally succeeded in gathering, or making the bones he couldn't just buy, the 200+ bones that would make up a male skeleton. Wood or plastic, the decorations were definitely going to surprise Brennen a little. The skull was the tree topper, and hidden near the back, where it wasn't easy to see was the sternum, which he had had to make him self. Carved into the back of the wooden bone was the year. It was his way of commemorating their first Christmas together. Cheezy? Yes. Corny? Yes, but Booth didn't care one little bit.

"What do you think?" He asked, smiling at her.

"I think it's perfect, and it's accurate? You know how picky she is about her bones," Angie said, moving away from Booth to the tree and looking it over.

"Yep, every bone in that would be in my body is there, either made of plastic or painted wood, and every one is strung up separately. I even went so far as to take them all down to one of the intern's in Limbo and have them double check my work. There are a couple of the... phalange... bones that are a little odd shaped, but we couldn't figure out what was wrong with them, so we left them. I know Bones with help me fix it when she figures out what's wrong with them," Booth said, stuffing his hands into his pockets and bouncing on the balls of his feet. He looked entirely too smug with himself about succeeding in his little plan. It had taken quite a bit of work on his part, but he figured that his girl would love it. Speaking of his girl, he heard her voice from out in the lab and grinned.

"Everything went well, I just need to drop my bag off in my office, then I'll come by to take a look at that with you Mr. Nigle Murry," Brennen was saying as she stepped into her office, looking over her shoulder at the intern on the platform. They were identifying 300 year old spartan remains that had been found in Crease a few months ago. When she turned to face her office she grinned. The first thing she saw was Booth standing there with a grin on his face. She didn't even notice the tree or Angela standing next to it until after she had dropped her purse onto the couch and kissed Booth soundly. After they parted, she glanced around and blushed slightly at the sight of Angela, then gasped. She'd seen the tree.

"It's all there, as accurate as I could make it. I hope you like it," Booth said as he turned Brennen toward the tree and pushed her toward it gently.

***

Twelve hours and a throbbing headache later, Booth was laid down on the couch in his and Brennen's apartment, trying to forget about the pain in his skull while Brennen cooked dinner. It was not working all that well, every beat of his heart sent a knife of searing pain straight into his head, which was then compounded by the sounds of his breathing. He'd taken a couple of pain killers when they'd gotten home, but they hadn't kicked in yet. Just as he was beginning to contemplate weather he'd live through it or not, he felt a cool damp cloth be laid over his eyes. Knowing instantly that it had been Brennen who'd done it, he smiled tensely and lifted his hand. Her cheek was laid against his palm, and he could almost feel the small smile play across her face. She had gotten what she had wanted after all. She almost never came home to an empty apartment anymore.

And on top of that, even though she had yet to tell Booth, she'd gotten another wish as well. Sighing, she pressed a soft kiss into Booth's palm and laid it across his stomach again. Dinner was ready, and she suddenly decided that they would eat in the living room tonight. Just when Booth thought that she wasn't coming back and he'd have to face the bright lights of the dinning room, the couch near his feet sank with her weight. Smiling he slowly sat up and swung his feet to the floor. The cloth slid off his face and landed on his lap, making him grimace. Removing the wet cloth he dropped it onto the table and turned to look at Brennen. She was sitting there next to him, a bowl of Macaroni and Cheese in both hands, forks sticking out of them, but there was something in her eyes that belied the smile on her face. She was scared. He'd known her long enough to know that. But what was she scared about?

Brennen smiled at him, trying her best to suppress the fear that she felt in her heart. What if he didn't want this? What if he didn't want her because of it? But hadn't she sworn to herself that night in his apartment all those months ago that she was would be honest to both of them? So why was it so hard to just say those two words? And she answered her own question, because she was afraid to loose him, she was afraid to once again come home to an empty apartment, to loose the love she had from this man.

Booth took his dinner from her hand, brushing his fingers across it hers gently, that charming smile on his face. Brennen turned to her own dinner, speared a couple of noodles and froze. He didn't seem to notice. He was too busy scarfing down the food she'd made. This is what he gets for not eating all day, a headache and a rumbling stomach. Well her Mac and Cheese was enough to make him feel better. Or at least it was until he heard the shuddering breath of his girlfriend from beside him. Whipping his head that way, his eyes wide, the fork fell from numb fingers when he saw the tears sliding down Brennen's cheeks. She had set her food on the carpet next to her feet and was just sitting there, crying.

"Oh god! Bones?!" Booth cried, setting his own half-finished dinner on the coffee table and sliding to the floor on his knees. Shuffling for a moment, he managed to place himself in front of her. Brennen sobbed when her face was cupped by both of his hands. "Babe? What's wrong?" his voice was soft, full of concern and fear. Bending forward, she buried her face in her hand and sobbed. She didn't know what to do, this was very unlike the logical Dr. Brennen. She was afraid, that this man would not want her, because of the baby she had growing in her womb. If there was a higher power then it was a cruel one to have given her a taste of everything she never knew she wanted, and then snatch it away from her with such a joyous thing. The sobs continued to wrack her slight frame as Booth wrapped his arms around his partner and lover. What could have made her cry so?

"Bones? Babe? What's wrong? You know you can talk to me, no matter what it is, I won't freak out I promise," He said, running his fingers softly along her back. A moment later he felt her tense even more before she mumbled something into her hands. Her body held the tension as she waited for him to reply. "Um... I didn't understand that darling, I'm sorry," Booth said, dropping back to sit on his knees. Anger snapped in her blue eyes when she lifted her head from her hands and glared at him. How dare he not understand her when she finally gets up enough courage to say it. Rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly at the anger in her eyes, he waited her out though, now he knew he'd done or said something wrong, she wouldn't be angry otherwise, but what had he done?

Brennen took a deep breath, remembered her vow to be honest to them, and blurted it out. "I'm pregnant," her eyes snapped shut and she waited for the anger, and denial in his voice. Boy did he shock her. The only thing she heard when he finally found his voice once again was shock.

"Pregnant?" Booth sat on his heels, and stared at her, his eyes wide, his mouth hanging open slightly. This is what she was so afraid of? What did she think, he'd leave her for this or something? Then he stopped, of course. After what he'd said to her when she'd asked, how he'd acted, god he was an idiot some times. Here he was, getting the second chance to be a father, to be a father to Brennen's child, and he'd already screwed it up. Well, he'd just have to fix it now wouldn't he?

Brennen's head snapped up to look at Booth when she heard what was in his voice. He sat there, staring at her, not saying anything his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open. Just as she was starting to get scared again, as the heat of her anger was cooling, he moved. Surging to his feet, he gripped her by the shoulders and brought her with him, when they were standing he crashed their lips together, clutching her too him. Brennen gasped against his lips before moaning, more tears trickling down her cheeks. They staid that way for a few moments before he parted their lips and leaned his forehead against her. Breathing hard, Brennen dug her nails into the back of his shirt, where her arms had encircled him during their kiss.

"I love you, Bones. More than you'll ever know, but right now I'm a little mad at you," He panted, and had to tighten his grip on her to prevent her from wriggling away from him. "Not because you're pregnant, you don't know how happy that makes me. No I'm a little bit mad at you, because you doubted me, you doubted that I would be happy about this. I never want you to doubt me, ever. I know I screwed up before, and I know you were afraid that I wouldn't want this baby because of what happened last year, when you asked, but you were wrong. I wanted to have a baby with you then, but the way you were doing it, wouldn't let me. You didn't want me involved, and that's what made me say no. Well, that's changed hasn't it?" he said all of this ever so softly against her nose, his eyes still closed his hands now resting on her arms. Brennen's lightning quick mind processed everything that he'd just said and sighed. He wanted this baby, he wanted to stay with her, and was asking her if she wanted the same from him. God, sometimes she really could be an idiot couldn't she?

"Of course it has, forgive me?" she murmured, rubbing small circles into his back. Booth sighed, nodded and scooped his girlfriend up into his arms. His headache was long forgotten, and he had other things on his mind then Mac and Cheese at the moment.

"Always," was his soft reply as he walked them into their bedroom, kicking the door closed behind him.

***

Christmas came and went, with Brennen's apartment and office filled with the sweet scent of pine. A few days after Christmas, Brennen had her first appointment with her midwife, and found out that she would be due in late September. Booth was a dream, he rubbed her feet for her, which after a long day of being on her feet, it was needed, and agreed to wait a little while longer to tell everyone else. They both wanted to keep it as just theirs for a while before everyone started to through advice at them. However, they couldn't wait much longer, Hodgin's had invited them over for a New Year's party, and there was no way, no one would notice that Brennen wasn't drinking. So when they were sat around the dinner table, Brennen ignoring the glass of red wine set by her, and sipping water, she knew she couldn't wait any longer to tell her family and friends. Taking a deep breath as panic rose in her throat, she fumbled under the table and took Booth's hand. He turned to look at her, gave her a warm smile and squeezed her hand. Then he stood up.

"Excuse me everyone? Just a moment please," Booth called out, tapping the side of his water glass with his spoon. After a moment he had gathered everyone's attention. "Thank you, now I know that everyone just wants to finish eating and get to fully stocked bar in the other room, but myself and Bones have something to say before then," he said, smiling down at the women who sat to his left. She took a deep breath and nodded to him to continue. "We are happy to announce that we will be welcoming a new member to our family sometime in late October," his words passed through smiling lips and when they fell into a shocked silence he settled himself back into his chair and turned to his girlfriend, taking her hand. A hand span of heartbeats passed before the silence shattered into a confused murmur. Suddenly Angela sprang to her feet, rounded the table and hugged her best friend.

"Congrats, Bren, I'm so happy for you," she said, a grin on her face. "And you too Big Guy," she said, turning her attention to Booth. That's all it took, everyone was smiling and congratulating the happy couple, and when the New Year hit, Brennen and Booth sighed, hoping this new year would bring nothing but happiness into their lives.

**A/N:** Thank you guys again for suck amazing feedback, please keep it coming. It'll be a while before I can manage to get the next chapter up. I had this one half finished when I posted the story on here. I havn't even touched the next chapter yet. Again please keep the feedback coming!!!


	3. Fractured World

A/N I know it's been a while, and I really must say that I'm sorry for the shortness of the chapter, but I couldn't seem to flush it out anymore then I did. I've had challenges before, but this was rediculous. Anyway, I hope you like it anyway, and I have a couple of things coming for the next chapter. *grins evily* I've decided that I'm going to truly rewrite the events that happened in the car. To a point anyway.

Read, enjoy and don't forget to review!!!

Chapter 3

Fractured World

"My Superiors tell me to let you take a look at the flying saucer," The deputy sheriff said, approaching the yellow do not cross line. Brennen's smirked at the superstitiousness of the law-enforcement. Who would believe that an alien would actually crash land on ear. She accepted the fact that there had to be life on other planets, but she could not accept the fact that any of them would want to come to Earth. If they had the technology to reach Earth, then they were advanced enough to understand that this planet she lived on was not one they would want to be any where near.

"It's not a flying saucer," The women said, stepping under the tape that Booth was holding up for her. A thin blazer was all she needed to stave off the early March chill. Though she had to go up a couple of sized in her pants, she had not yet been forced to resort to maternity clothing yet. Her normally flat stomach had only just begun to bulge a little, not even a big enough bump to fill her own small hand. However, she had already had to replace all of her bras, thanks to the fact that her breasts had grown a full cup size in the last two months. All of her shirts fit her much more snugly over the chest area, something that Booth seemed to enjoy immensely. The Sheriff speaking once again, pulled Brennen from her thoughts and she noticed that she had been moving with him as he led her to the "Spaceship".

"It sure looks like one," he said, moving toward the metal container sticking out of the dirt in the side of the hill. "Local kids dirt biking, saw something shiny poking through the dirt, dug it out, look in the window, see aliens." By this time they were standing next to the container, with it's small dusty window.

"Did you look?' Brennen asked, her hands stuffed into the pocket's of her jacket to keep it from flaring around her belly. No need to advertise to the world that she was with child. She knew the rules. She would not be allowed at any more crime scenes if the forensic guys found out she was pregnant. She could not afford for that just yet. Already she and Booth had had several arguments over weather she should continue to work on active cases with him or not. He'd lost, after she had pointed out to him, that even though she was pregnant she was not incapacitated, and the fact that she threatened to make him sleep in the guest room if he continued to argue.

"Yes, Ma'am," Again the sheriff's voice pulled her from her thoughts. Focusing on him once again, she noticed he looked a little scared. "Then called for backup," he was saying. Booth spoke up this time.

"Why?" Booth was hovering just behind Brennen, attempting to not let her notice him staying within arms reach in case she slid on the loose earth. She seemed to be doing find though, and he remembered with amusement the silent argument they had undergone when Brennen refused to allow him to carry her field bag for her. She was such a stubborn women, and everything she did seemed to make him love her more.

"On the account of, they are aliens," Booth raised an eyebrow at the sheriff then turned to give his partner and girlfriend a knowing look. This guy was an idiot. Thankfully when Brennen climbed the hill to take a closer look, the sheriff decided to leave them to it and wondered off to help take witness statements. Being careful not to slip, Brennen crouched near the small window of the container. Booth a little down the hill from her in his blue jeans and t-shirt. Brennen set her bag down and wiped at the window, peering into it's depths. The sight that greeted her made her cringe and have to fight back tears.

"You want to take a look?" She turned to Booth, forcing herself to act normally, she would allow herself to feel the pain later, when she didn't have work to do. Booth moved up behind her, and leaned over her shoulder to look down through the windows. What he saw made him raise his eyebrows again. It really did look like there were two aliens at the bottom of the container.

"Are those what I think they are?" he asked, shocked at the sight of bodies.

"Yes, as long as you think they're two adolescent human males," Brennen said, turning to look at her partner over her shoulder. He really was quite handsome, and he was all hers. A small smile twitched at her lips, and they fell into the standard back and forth of their partnership. Thankfully, Sweets had forced the higher ups to allow them to continue to work together, mostly because he knew that if Booth was reassigned, Brennen would refuse to work with the FBI anymore. The higher-ups decided that the personal relationship between the partners could be ignored in favor of having the country's top Forensic Anthropologist continue to help solve their murders for them.

***

Booth kissed his girlfriend goodbye as she headed into the parking garage. She was off to her prenatal yoga class, and he had some paperwork that he really needed to finish before he could join her at the diner for dinner, and then off to home. They had a relaxing weekend ahead of them. Thankfully this 'Grave Digger' case was mostly dead, and could wait for Monday for them to continue with it. Though knowing Brennen the way he did he was certain she would want to spend the weekend working on the case. He didn't much mind as long as she remembered to eat and came home at a decent hour to sleep. He watched the door to the elevator close and turned to head toward the front of the building, where his suv was parked.

***

The sound of distorted music woke Brennen from a foggy force induced sleep. She rubbed her eyes and sat up, looking around blearily. By the glow of the radio she couldn't see a whole hell of a lot. A few moments later she fumbled the over head light on, and gasped. She was sitting on the floor of a pretty much gutted sedan. The front seats were gone, along with the center console. Next to her leg, in the passenger side floorboard, was a jumbled of stuff. Ignoring it for the time being she reached for the door handle. It wouldn't open. After a couple of tries with her shoulder involved she gave up and fumbled for the button to open the window. The only thing that game flooding through the slit was dirt, gravel.

A groan from behind her made her turn, and she gasped when she saw Hodgins laid across the back bench seat. Scrambling over to him on the hard metal floor, she started to look him over. He was slowly waking up, groaning and blinking his eyes.

"Hodgins, what happened to your legs?" Bones asked, knowing it was a stupid question, but she couldn't remember much of anything at that point.

"Where are we?" He asked, groaning again and rubbing his eyes. A closer inspection of Hodgin's legs showed an open wound on his left lower leg, and from the purpling color around the drying blood she could tell that at least one of the bones was broken. Glancing around once more, she began to think of what could of happened in the last couple of hours. From a quick look at her watch she found that she had a three hour gap in her memory. Assuming that it had taken the Gravedigger around an hour to get the both of them to where they were and bury the car, if not longer, then they had.... ten hours before they ran out of air. A short conversation between them reaffirmed this in her mind. She had ten hours to save one of her closest friends, herself and her unborn child.

***

Nearly three hours later, he was sitting at his desk in his office, his feet propped up on the desk a book open in his lap. Brennon still didn't know that he had bought the book and was reading it. He hadn't been able to do these things when Rebecca was born so he was going to do it now. Yes he should have been doing paperwork, but "What to expect when Your wife is expecting" was far more interesting to him then old case reports, and crime scene sketches. The sound of his phone ringing made him jerk and jump to his feet. After a deep breath he sat his book down and began to search for the offending piece of technology. Finding it in his jacket pocket which he'd thrown over the back of a chair, he dialed his voice mail. As he listened emotions played over his face. Fear, anger, worry, deep hurt, and a hundred other emotions. When the message was done playing and he'd saved it into his phone, he growled, anger winning out. Jumping to his feet he grabbed his jacket and ran for his suv, not caring that he almost knocked over the poor janitor on his way to the elevator.

The drive to the Jeffersonian institute seemed like a dream to him. The whole way there he felt like the world had fallen out from beneath his feet and reality had fractured. Not quite broken, but one more good hit to it and it would shatter into a thousand pieces that he would never be able to gather and repair. As prayers for guidance and tolerance ran through his head, he tried desperately not to think about what kind of person he would became if he lost Brennon and the baby. By the time he had pulled into a parking space in the garage under the building he was shaking from his head to his toes. Swallowing a sob and biting back the tears he told himself he would not break down, cause he had to save them. They were counting on him to save them.

And now, standing in the conference room, listening once again to the message he welcomed the rage that once more burned through his blood. This man, who ever he was, would pay. Snapping his phone shut, he walked over to Angela and clutched her to his chest. Anger hadn't stopped her tears, logic wasn't winning over her panic, and the scream that she let out was so full of pain and loss that is was the final straw to shatter Booth's world. Somehow, the shattering of his world brought him a clarity and focus that he didn't know he possessed. As the squint squad scrambled to find their missing co-workers, and Angie screamed and sobbed into his chest, he knew that no matter what it took, no matter how many people got hurt between now and then, he would find his family. And when he did, if they were harmed, he would find those responsible for it, no matter how many people he had to kill to do so.

A/N What do you think? I'm not entirely happy with the last paragraph. But after rewriting it 6 times I decided that enough was enough. That paragraph was the reason it has taken me this long to get this thing up. *growls* Oh well. But I do have a small crumb from chapter 4 for you guys, but again, I'm not sure how long it's going to take me to get it up. Please do be patient with me.

_Chapter 4_

_ "Exactly, so I know him, and he does not negotiate," a few verbal blows were thrown between them, but the rage inside Booth snapped when the guy got into his face. "You just need to face the facts, if you can't put the ransom together in time your partner is dead," his words forced a demented smile onto Booth's face as he suddenly realised he had something to vent his anger at. This guy was asking for it as well. Grabbing the guy he slammed him down onto the table in his office, one hand holding him down by the throat._

_ "Here's the deal, alright, you have a relationship with this scumbag. What they call symbiotic, you benefit from one another. So know this, that dead line comes around, and my partner is still in the ground, I will end you. You understand?" He asked, he appeared to be completely calm, and for the most part he was. Letting the guy up when he nodded his understanding, Booth glared at the man. "Three hours to live." _

_ "Why does it matter so much to you?" The guy croaked, rubbing his neck. Booth took a deep breath and snarled through clenched teeth._

_ "That dirtbag didn't just kidnap my friend and my partner, he took my child as well. Yeah, that's right, Dr. Brennen and I are together and she's three months pregnant with my kid. So you'd better hurry, cause if all three of them don't come out of the ground safe and sound, I won't make it an easy, quick painless ending for you, Mr. Vega," Booth turned from the door, placing his hands on the top of his desk and took slow even breath's trying to calm his heart rate once again. _


	4. Under The Dirt

**A/N Here we go. Chapter 4 finally up, I hope you enjoy it! And like I said, I'm rewriting Brennon and Hodgins down in the car. This just makes more sense to me. XD R&R please**

Chapter 4

Under the Dirt

Dr. Temperance Brennon had spent 17 years of her life alone, after her parents left, and she drove her brother away she's found it easier to be that way. She thought that being alone meant being safe, that if she never let anyway near her heart then she wouldn't be hurt. And it held true for 15 years, that is until she met Seeley Booth. The man was an enigma, he was charming, charismatic, attractive, and he had a gentle heart. Though she found out he could be as hard as he needed to be, as merciless as he needed to be when it came to his family. And before she knew it, she was listed under that title. She had become part of his family without trying to be. He took a bullet for her, was blown up by a bomb that had been meant for her, and saved her even though he should have been in the hospital. He was her 'knight in shining kevlar' as Angela put it.

And yet, he still hurt her on occasion. Somehow he'd wormed his wear passed the walls she'd built around her heart. He'd seated himself inside her soul against her will. By the time he'd had his surgery, she had fallen so deeply and thoroughly that she hadn't left his side the whole time he'd been in a coma. He could make her cry, laugh and shiver with a look, and it was all new to her. When she saw him with a woman, it had sparked an emotion she didn't know she could ever feel. Jealousy. She had started to feel jealous of the woman that he would be with. Jealous of that fact that for a time, they could call him theirs in a way that she hadn't thought she would ever be able to do. But now, now he was hers. Even more so then any other woman on the planet. Rebecca could claim a small part of him, due to the fact that she was the mother of his first born son, but she had given up the right to truly call him hers when she told him no she wouldn't marry him.

Brennon was happy now, happier then she had ever been in her life, even the vague memories she had of when her family was still together didn't hold a candle to how it was when she laid in bed with Booth and he talked to her growing belly. Or when he would show up in her office at the lab with Tai food, or when he'd sit on the couch in the living room watching a football game in boxers and those crazy socks of his. She was truly happy. Or she was until about three hours ago when she'd woken up in a gutted car with Dr. Hodgins, buried under ground, running out of air.

As her thoughts once again turned to the situation that they were in, a scowl dominated her face. Shaking the depressing thoughts away she returned to the wiring in her hand. She was currently wiring the pda laying in her lap to the horn, in the desperate hope that they would be able to send a text message to Booth. She'd dismantled the radio, thanks to the tools in her mini kit, as well as a couple of the speakers, and she'd managed to get enough, she hoped, resisters to drop the voltage of the horn enough not to fry the phone right away. She was hoping to get about 20 secs to send the message. She was so focused on what she was doing that the groan from Hodgins made her jump.

"Oh good. I didn't kill you," she sighed, slumping in relief at the fact. He was laying on the back seat with her button up shirt wrapped loosely around his leg. In an attempt keep him from slipping into shock and dieing, she had opened his lower leg to relieve the pressure of the internal bleeding. He had passed out from the pain a few minutes after she had finished. That had been an hour ago.

"I'd hoped that it was just a bad dream, that I'd wake up next to Angela, at home and everything would be find. Giving him a look of understanding, she glanced at his leg.

"How is it?" She asked, pointing at it with her elbow. He looked down at it and sighed.

"Much better thank you," he said, finally noticing the wiring in her hands. "What's up?" She looked down at what was in her hands and grinned at him,

"Trying to wire the phone to the horn. Hopefully we will be able to send a message to Booth to tell him where we are," She said, returning to what she had in her hands.

"A 12 volt horn would fry the 3.7 volt phone in a millisecond. Unless you wired resistors into the circuit to drop the voltage enough," Hodges grinned at Brennon as she held up the web of wires she was fiddling with. From what he could see she had 8 resistors wired into the circuit. 4 in sequence and 4 parallel.

They lapsed into comfortable silence, each preoccupied with thoughts of loved ones about the dirt who were most certainly trying to find a way to get them out. Brennon continued to work with the phone, while Hodgins examined the scrap of bumper sticker Brennon had taken out of his leg. Expressing his annoyance to her, he stuffed the piece of bumper sticker back into the book and sighed. Time seemed to crawl as he waited for Brennon to finish what she was doing.

Pulling the note he had written out of his pocket he opened it and reread it.

_Angie,_

_ If you are reading this, well that means that I've gone and made you a widow. I'm sorry, this was not how I wanted this to turn out. More then anything I wanted to live my life with you until we were both old, and wrinkly and our hair had turned blue. Please forgive me, I should have tried harder, I should have done something more to make sure that I got out of that whole and back to you. And now that I've made you cry, how about I bring that grin back? I love you, head over heels, painfully, powerfully love you. You're the first thing I think of when I wake up, the last thing I think of when I fall asleep, and the only thing I care about in-between. I needed to make sure that you knew, without a doubt, that your lovely smile was the last thing I thought about. _

_ Your Love Now and Forever_

_ Jack. _

Folding the note back up and stuffing it into his pocket he looked at Brennon. She had stopped fiddling, and was looking at him.

"I think I've got it. If my math is right we have 15 secs to write the message, hit speed dial and send," she said, looking down at the phone. He nodded and took a deep breath.

"I've figured out a message in 9 key strokes, that even Booth will understand," he said, a small smile on his face. Brennon nodded, handed the phone to him and put both hands on the horn. "Ready," Hodgins said, looking down at the phone. The sound of the horn filled the gutted car, and when the spark from the phone made Hodgins set it down Brennon let off the horn.

"Did it send?" she asked, looking up at him. He nodded, closing his eyes and staring at the phone.

***

Brennon stared down at the power bar in her hand, she knew she should eat, but her stomach was so upset that she couldn't imagine being able to keep it down. A quick glance at her watch told her she hadn't eaten in nearly 6 hours. And her lunch really hadn't been that great in the first place. A bag of peanuts out of the vending machine really couldn't be counted as lunch. The memory of Booth's glare made her smile, the look in his eyes had told her that if she hadn't been elbow deep in this case, he would have drug her down to the diner and made her eat something real. Now she wished he had, maybe then neither of them would be trapped in this car. Taking a deep breath, she ripped the wrapper off the bar and started to eat it.

"I've been thinking, statistically speaking, if we get FM radio, then there is a high likely hood that we are less than 4 foot under the surface," Brennon said, taking a large gulp of the bottle of water in her hand. Hodgins nodded as he crumpled the wrapper of his own power bar up and tossed it under the glove box.

"What are you thinking Dr. B?" He asked, gulping down his own water. She met his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath.

"I want to open a window and let the car fill up with as much dirt as it will. If we're less then 4 feet from the surface, we'll see daylight before the car fills up all the way," She said, keeping eye contact with him. He stared at her for a moment before a grin split his face.

"That's brilliant Dr. B, but... what about the dust? Even if we hit the surface, the dust from the coal could certainly kill us if we breath too much of it in," he said, staring out the window by his head. She nodded and leaned forward, pulling her shirt over her head. She had been sitting on the floor of the car for so long, her butt was mostly asleep.

"We wet down our shirts with the water we have left and tie them around our nose and mouth. It should reduce the amount of dust we inhale by enough to keep us from choking on it," Hodgins nodded, shifting enough to pull his own shirt off.

Picking up the book, he ripped a page out of the back and handed it to her, along with a pen. When she met his eyes she saw compassion in them, and an understanding there that made the bats in her stomach calm down some what.

"Say goodbye," he said, pressing the paper and pen into her hands. She nodded and settled to write the note. After about ten minutes she folded the paper up and stuffed it down the front of her bra.

"Ready?" She asked, her voice muffled by her wet shirt. A sound from behind her told her yes, and she pushed the button to open the window. 4 sec and she let up, closing her eyes she scrambled away from the down pour of gravel.

_Seeley,*_

_ You know more then anyone how hard it is for me to express my feelings. But I had to try. You taught me how to feel again, how to love. You've given me more in the time we have known one another then any one else has managed to in my entire life. I love you. I know that now. Please forgive me though, you wouldn't be reading this if I was sitting next to you. I'm sorry I wasn't able to save myself, or our child. But I couldn't go without saying goodbye, without telling you that I loved you. Maybe, one day, if it's true, I'll see you again in heaven... but even now I can't bring myself to believe it. _

_ Yours Always_

_ Bones_

As the words from her note filled her head, Brennon felt the tears she had been holding back pour down her cheeks. She was afraid, afraid that she hadn't been able to save herself, her friend or her unborn child. So wept for all of them, but more then anyone she wept for the pain that their deaths would cause Booth. It would break him, more then anything that had ever happened in his life, this would be the one thing that would break his very soul. She knew that, and she was determined to do everything she could to stop it from happening. For his sake, as well as the world's.

Silence, it filled the car, and after the roar of the gravel pouring in through the window it was deafening. Slowly two sets of eyes blinked open, only to squint through the glare of the sun light pouring through the window. She had been right, they had reached the surface. Brennon started to move, digging the gravel away from the door to she could roll the window down the rest of the way, and as she worked, Hodgins helped, forgetting about the pain in his leg, he shoved the gravel and dirt further back into the car. The light from outside spurred them into action, giving them the strength to uncover the button. The moment she found the button, Brennon rolled the window down the rest of the way, shoving the dirt behind her to keep the window clear. Once the whole was big enough for Hodgins, she sat back and took a deep breath.

A shadow passed in front of the glare of sun, plunging them once again into darkness. Someone was standing just outside the whole they had made.

**A/N: Alright! Finally managed to get this up here. I know it's a little short, but I'm already working on the next chapter. And I know the little crumb I gave you guys wasn't in this one, but I changed my mind on how I was going to do this chapter and the next one. Anyway. I love being mean to you guys and leaving the cliffhanger. XD Hope you enjoyed it, and please review!**


	5. Broken Faith

**A/N OMG! Yes I'm alive, sorry about the LONG wait. My muse went on vacation. *glares at the imp* But here it is, the end of the ordeal. But not the end of the story. I still have many plans for this thing. I hope you enjoy this and again sorry for the long wait.**

Broken Faith

Seeley Booth considered himself a religious man, one that trusted that God would never give him a test he could not handle. However, as he sat in the third row of his church, staring at the crucified Jesus, he began to wonder if this test would be the one to break him. To shatter him back to the man he was before he Temperance Brennen. Back to the lost man who drank and gambled his pay check away. This was a test had lived through before, in one form or another, one that he'd barely survived.

When he'd found out about Rebecca being pregnant, he'd though to settle down, to marry her and live the dream. when she's said no, he'd turned his back on everything in his life. He'd begun to loose himself in booze, women and hustling pool. Then he'd met her, he'd met Bones. That first kiss, under the awning at a bar, the rain coming down in sheets, with booze on their breath had brought him back to life. He'd wanted to be a better man, not for god, or his boss, or even his newborn son. he'd wanted to be a better man for her, for the women who'd walked away from him, who'd told him to fuck off. And now, so many years later, she still had that effect on him, she still made him want to be a better man.

He'd gotten the American dream, kind of. He had a living girlfriend, a wonderful fulfilling job, a nice place, a brilliant son, and a child on the way. He never had to worry about waking up alone, going home to an empty apartment or forgetting the latest woman's name. Or at least he'd never have to worry about it until he got that phone call, the one telling him that he was being put through the test again. However, this time was far worse, this wasn't a women turning him down, this was someone, a killer, taking his dream, his life, his world and tearing it into tiny little pieces and expecting him to pick it up and put it back together. He'd had his faith shaken before, but never this badly. This was the first time in his entirely life that he was angry at God, was angry at a higher power that would allow this to happen.

Even as he sat in his church and prayed, he did not feel the comfort that he normally got from this, he did not feel at peace with the world, like he normally did. Sighing suddenly, he got to his feet and went to the confessional booth, if praying didn't help, maybe this would. However before he could open the door and step inside his phone went off in his pocket. Taking a deep breath, he fished his phone from his pocket and left the church. By the time he snapped the phone closed, the rage had begun to boil his blood once more.

Booth stood at the head of the table in the conference room, glaring at the K and R guy as he asked stupid, pointless, time wasting questions. Booth's hands itched to punch something, his feet itched to pound the pavement and find this bastard who had the gall to take HIS girlfriend and bury her alive. Snarling at the man, Booth walked out of the room, not trusting himself to pound the guy into mulch. He had to do something, they were running out of time. After his meeting with the squint squad, Cam, Angie and Nigle Murry, who Booth had to snarl at when he started spouting off random trivia, Booth went to call the Cantilever group.

The hours continued to pass and they were no closer to finding out where his girlfriend was. And he found himself in the lounge with Cam, tears threatening to fall as he watched the squints below him scramble around in their lab. He felt like his world was shattering, like everything around him was falling apart and it was slipping through his fingers. He had managed to control the rage, suppressing it into a molten heat just below the surface. But he didn't know how long it was going to be before this particular volcano exploded. The pressure was building, and he didn't know how long it was going to be before he cracked.

He paced in his office, hoping the familiar surroundings would soothe his tired mind. But it wasn't helping him any, it was only making him more antsy. And the voice of the K and R guy didn't help him any.

"There's no negotiating with the Grave Digger," Booth scrubbed his face with his hands, turning to face the guy as he talked.

"You've been through this what, five times with this guy?" He asked, fighting the rage once more.

"Exactly, so I know him, and he does not negotiate," a few verbal blows were thrown between them, but the rage inside Booth snapped when the guy got into his face. "You just need to face the facts, if you can't put the ransom together in time your partner is dead," his words forced a demented smile onto Booth's face as he suddenly realized he had something to vent his anger at. This guy was asking for it as well. Grabbing the guy he slammed him down onto the table in his office, one hand holding him down by the throat.

"Here's the deal, alright, you have a relationship with this scumbag. What they call symbiotic, you benefit from one another. So know this, that dead line comes around, and my partner is still in the ground, I will end you. You understand?" He asked, he appeared to be completely calm, and for the most part he was. Letting the guy up when he nodded his understanding, Booth glared at the man. "Three hours to live."

"Why does it matter so much to you?" The guy croaked, rubbing his neck. Booth took a deep breath and snarled through clenched teeth.

"That dirt bag didn't just kidnap my friend and my partner, he took my child as well. Yeah, that's right, Dr. Brennen and I are together and she's three months pregnant with my kid. So you'd better hurry, cause if all three of them don't come out of the ground safe and sound, I won't make it an easy, quick painless ending for you, Mr. Vega," Booth turned from the door, placing his hands on the top of his desk and took slow even breath's trying to calm his heart rate once again.

Sweets watched Booth for some time before he approached. The man looked ready to explode, like he was holding in so much rage that one more little push would shove him over the edge and have him either hurting everyone around him, or himself. When he did walk over to a man he considered to be his friend, he did not say anything, simply stood next to him and watched the squint squad scramble below them. They were standing on the cat walk in the lab, leaning against the railing. Just as Sweets was about to say something to get the conversation rolling Booth began to speak.

"The Cantilever group called me back, Jack put a rule into effect that says without proof of life there can be no ransom offered. If what is said about this gravedigger guy is true, then they won't help with the ransom. And the board is refusing to allow Angela access to the funds because of the same reason, and because they never agreed with Jack for not putting a prenup into place when him and Angela got married. Jack never felt that they needed one," Booth said, not looking at Sweets. "All of which means I can't do a damn thing to save my girlfriend, my child or my best friend. I get to stand around and wait for them down there to come up with something that I can use to try and find them." The voice that came out of this strong confident man sent a chill down Sweets' spine and the hair on his arms stand up. That voice shocked Sweets more then the look on Booth's face. It showed that the damage from this latest test cut far deeper and hurt far worse then he'd first thought. He knew that Booth loved Brennen that they were having a baby together, but he hadn't realized just how deeply this man would be cut if he lost the woman.

"I know everyone has said it, and I know that it's hard to believe right now but we'll-" A chirping from Booth's pocket interrupted Sweets. Booth fumbled in his pocket for a moment, a shocked look on his face before he managed to retrieve the device. Flipping it open the shock was replaced by confusion. Shoving the phone into Sweets face.

"You know what the hell this means? I'm seriously confused," Booth asked, and when Sweets shook his head he turned away and began to run toward the platform. "NIGAL!" Sweets shook his head, wondering what the hell was going on. The words on the screen didn't make any sense what so ever. By the time he hit the forensic platform, setting the alarm off, Nigal Murry, and Cam were waiting for him. "What the fuck does 'Coal M1.4' mean?" Nigal took a step away from Booth, clearing flustered by the man's aggressive approach. When he began to babble about how coal was formed however, a hand placed itself across his mouth.

"Why does it matter Booth?" Cam asked in the silence that followed.

"I just got a text message from Bones. All it said was 'Coal M1.4'. I figured the walking encyclopedia would know," Booth said, handing his phone to Cam. However, without a word Angela sat down at a computer and began to type. She had been utterly silent since the screaming stopped. Her eyes were hollow, her face void of emotion. When she did open her mouth her voice was flat, dull, and cracked over a few words.

"Coal is the same, no matter where it is, but you can identify where a sample is from by which frequency the mineral components or macerals, fluoresce at," Angela said, turning to look at Booth, and choking back a sob when she saw the clock on the big screen count down to zero. "I know where they are, but we're out of time." Her voice was soft, barely a whisper as tears began to run down her pale cheeks once more.

The drive to the rock quarry, even at almost 90 MPH, took nearly half an hour. Booth spent the entire drive praying and fidgeting, tapping on the wheel, and shifting in his seat. About 15 minutes into the drive he pulled his rosary out of the front of his shirt and began to rub the cross on it. The closer they got the more his heart began to race, and a roaring filled his ears. When they hit the quarry, he had his seat belt off and bearly contained himself long enough to turn the engine off and put the SUV into park. Flying from the car he ran to the edge of the pit and looked down over the nearly square mile surface of the quarry.

More cars pulled up behind him, but he wasn't paying attention, his eyes were focused below him. He heard Cam talk, her voice bearly registering over the roaring of his blood in his ears. Just as he was about to start barking out orders, his eyes caught movement. Staring at it for a moment he realized that it looked like a drain, like gravel pouring down a drain. Without a second thought to what he was doing he began to slide down the embankment, nearly tripping over his own feet. When his feet hit level ground, his mind jumped back to the first time he ever saw Brennen.

She was standing at the head of a lecture hall, talking about remains of some sort, but it was the passion in her eyes that had drawn him to her. She loved her work, she loved looking at some guy who'd been dead for hundreds of years and finding out not only how he'd died, but how he'd lived his life. He'd sworn at that moment that she was an angel, she had to be, no living person could be that beautiful, and still be that smart. The vision of her in front of that class faded, to be replaced by that moment under the awning, when he knew he'd fallen in love with her, just a little bit. The more images followed, rapid fire across his minds eye. The kiss under the mistletoe, her standing in the hallway as he was wheeled into surgery, her standing in his dining room in pearls and ribbons the first night they made love. Their child on a grainy black and white screen at the doctors office, the feel of her baby bump under his palm as they lay in bed. All of it ran through his head within seconds, making his heart swell with fear and love all at once.

By the time he got to where the gravel had been moving it had stopped. Moving to look down into the whole that had been created, he dropped to his knees. He saw the eyes of the women he loved, the woman he wanted to be with the rest of his life. A sob tore itself from his throat at he surged forward and grabbed her, pulling her from the whole and her would be tomb. Once he got her out of the car and into his arms he moved out of the way so that Cam, Angie, and Nigel could help Hodgin's out. Clutching his life to his chest, the tears finally came, pouring down his cheeks. The shirt was ripped from her face and he began to kiss her, over and over, on her lips her cheeks, anywhere he could reach, he didn't care that she was covered in dust, that his tears were leaving clean splotches on her face. He only cared that she was in his arms, she was alive, and that the sun felt warm against his back once again. He didn't even care that his $1200 suit was getting ruined.

After a few moments they calmed down, and Booth allowed the EMTs to help Brennen onto a gurney, even though she protested being taken away from Booth, one word about the welfare of her child was enough to change her mind. Tossing his keys to Cam he climbed into the ambulance with Brennen, not wanting her out of his site for more then a few seconds.

And so, life and love prevailed, it returned to what it had been, or as close to it as it could get. The baby was fine, Jack's leg began to mend, and the hunt for the bastard who'd buried them went on.

**A/N Alright, so everyone here knew I wasn't going to kill anyone off right? So a GIANT relationship change is coming in the next chapter. I won't tell you what, and I won't tell you who, but it's coming. Hope you enjoyed. Feedback is nice. XD **

**Evelan**


	6. Note to my fans 2

O.O *hides from you guys*

I'm about to really upset some of you guys. I'm not going to publish the next chapter of this story until I can proof read and fix some of the issues from previous chapters. So if anyone is willing to help me with this please send me a pm here.

Thank you guys for being so nice.

*ducks behind cover*


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